The internet includes a communications network linking a vast number of computers with smaller computers, computer networks, and wireless devices. The computers coupled to these networks exchange information using various services, such as electronic mail, gopher, and the World Wide Web (WWW). The World Wide Web allows a computer server (sometimes referred to as a web server or a website) to send graphical web page information to a remote client computer system. The remote client computer system is configured to display the web page information in a graphical format.
Resources, such as individual computers or individual web pages on the World Wide Web may be uniquely identified by a uniform resource locator (URL). For a user to view a specific web page, a client computer system specifies the URL for that web page in a request, such as a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request. The request is forwarded through the communications network, to the web server that supports the particular web page. The web server responds to the request by sending the particular web page through the requesting client computer system. When the requesting client computer system receives the particular web page, the particular web page is displayed on a video display using a browser. The browser is typically a special-purpose application program that affects the requesting of web pages and the supplying of web pages.
The web pages themselves are typically defined using a hypertext mark-up language (HTML). HTML simply provides a standard set of tags that define how a web page is to be displayed. When a user indicates to the browser to display a web page, the browser sends a request to the server computer to transfer to the client computer system an HTML document that defines the web page. When the requested HTML document is received by the client computer system, the browser displays the web page as defined by the HTML document. The HTML document contains various tags that control the displaying of text graphics, controls, and other features. The HTML document may further contain URLs of other web pages or of other documents or other types of content, such as, but not limited to, audio and video content, available on that server computer system or other server computer systems. These URLs are often referred to as links. Each of these links may be selected by the HTML document user and an HTTP request is sent to the associated web server.
Although the origins of the worldwide web arose from the need for an exchange of scientific and engineering information between scientists and engineers, the worldwide web has become especially conducive to conducting electronic commerce (e-commerce), searching for information by individuals for both personal and professional use, and for managing and facilitating day-to-day activities by individuals in a personal and professional context, among others.
It has become increasingly desired that individuals be able to gain access to the resources and content available through the World Wide Web while using any of a variety of mobile devices, including, but not limited to mobile computers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants and handheld computers. With increased demands being put on these devices, users increasingly demand access to content available over the World Wide Web that would conventionally be available to a personal computer user as well, for example. Portable devices, such as handheld computers typically do not have the communication bandwidth typically associated with a personal computer. The wireless link over which the handheld computer communicates with the wireless server typically has a relatively low bandwidth.
Accordingly, there is a need for software for both handheld computers (as well as mobile computers and cellular telephones) and server computers which enable content delivery and exchange over a wireless communication link. There is also a need for a “plug-in” software mechanism for computer servers and handheld computers which facilitates content delivery to and from a handheld computer by particular formatting and/or compression. Further still, there is a need for methods for delivering content provided over a communications network, to a handheld computer.
The techniques herein below extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above mentioned needs.